Rfc2898DeriveBytes takes a password, a salt, and an iteration count, and then generates keys through calls to the GetBytes method.

RFC 2898 includes methods for creating a key and initialization vector (IV) from a password and salt. You can use PBKDF2, a password-based key derivation function, to derive keys using a pseudo-random function that allows keys of virtually unlimited length to be generated. The Rfc2898DeriveBytes class can be used to produce a derived key from a base key and other parameters. In a password-based key derivation function, the base key is a password and the other parameters are a salt value and an iteration count.

For more information about PBKDF2, see RFC 2898, "PKCS #5: Password-Based Cryptography Specification Version 2.0," available on the Request for Comments Web site. See section 5.2, "PBKDF2," for complete details.

Security Note

Never hard-code a password within your source code. Hard-coded passwords can be retrieved from an assembly by using the Ildasm.exe (IL Disassembler), by using a hexadecimal editor, or by simply opening up the assembly in a text editor such as Notepad.exe.